That's the way the money goes ....Pop goes the weasel

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "PANDERING,PROSTITUTION AND POLITICS ARE OFTEN LINK...": 

Rumour has it that the new CAO has put Al Downey's Cultural Precinct plan on the backburner. 

Posted by Anonymous to  Our Town and Its Business at 21 March 2016 at 23:19

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The Cultural Precinct came out of the Promenade Study . In weird and convoluted style, it justified a building renovated for a museum being handed over to a private organisation, rent free, with full maintenance and half a million dollars  rising annually for operating, plus all revenues derived. 

The town administration  was re-organized and management of buildings,including recreation facilities was transferred from Downey to Simanovsky, Director of Infrastructure and Environment, 

The addition to the Family Leisure Complex costing millions over budget taking months beyond schedule and still not complete with millions still needed to complete the necessary was also 

done without Mr. Downey's oversight. 

The new joint facility is rumored to be millions over budget, while specs  in the original contract 

have been changed to avoid having to requisition additilnal sums to complete the planned project.

It would be difficult  to tally the  millions siphoned from town coffers with nothing, absolutely nothing accomplished but funded from steadily rising property taxes. 

Mr Downey was not the author of the Promenade Study nor the Cultural Precinct Plan within it.

He did however oversee servicing town-owned land for industrial development. It was  purchased  years before with borrowed money, for recreation purposes. Funds for servicing  were also  borrowed to be repaid with funds from sales. Still unrealized as years roll by. 

The engineering project was completed within schedule and budget. 

Lands have been purchased here  and purchased there and a contaminated shack acquired at a cost of half a million doors , all without stated purpose .

While redundant buildings on Library Square await decision since the 1990s. 

Should they go or should they stay? If the old library stays, hundreds of thousands need to be spent on repairs. More is needed to make it accessible .When that's done, the structure makes  a library building difficult to adapt to other uses. 

While this Council, like the last six , delays the decision, the solitary ,thoroughly modern hotel in town closed and Council  publicly frets about being unable to determine the intentions of its owners . 

Councils  come and Councils go. 

Studies and plans and purchases proceed unchecked.

For example ,changes were made to the redundant library building to accommodate  transition during construction at the town hall which was cancelled at staff level after $ 300,000. were spent.

All the while, top dollar was spent for management expertise.